Head of Trading

Do you have a background in sales/underwriting operations with experience in Broker/Commercial Insurance?
Can you demonstrate experience and success in roles with an operational/business development focus and have a proven track record of delivery against new business and portfolio growth targets?
Come and join our National Markets UK Broker team here at Markel as a Head of Trading
What part will you play? If you’re looking for a place where you can make a meaningful difference, you’ve found it. The work we do at Markel gives people the confidence to move forward and seize opportunities, and you’ll find your fit amongst our global community of optimists and problem-solvers. We’re always pushing each other to go further because we believe that when we realise our potential, we can help others reach theirs.
Join us and play your part in something special!

The opportunity:
We have an exciting new opportunity for a Head of Trading to join our NMUK Broker team working across any of our offices in Leeds, Manchester or Birmingham with some National travel involved. This role will focus on driving performance and productivity alongside technical excellence which delivers our profitability. 

The role’s primary responsibility is to deliver the overall New Business budget for the Broker Sales Division, through leading the Broker Sales product teams, dealing with strategic and flow brokers. The individual, in conjunction with Broker Sales management will define and drive the sales activity and will be a member of the NM UK Senior Leadership team, reporting into the Divisional Director, your expertise will drive operational efficiency, insightful data analysis, and excellence in service delivery.

We organise our business into five key channels, with the NMUK Broker Channel the largest and fastest growing of all our of UK business area’s. Our broker engagement and subsequently pipeline and new business volumes have increased exponentially this year. In order to focus on delivering exceptional support and ensure delivery on our growth ambitions, we segment the UK broker population in to three categories: Strategic, Key and Development and Connect.

What you’ll be doing:

• Work in tandem with the Head of Strategic Brokers and Head of Regional Brokers to ensure alignment between sales operations and overall sales strategies

• Lead and optimise underwriting processes (i.e., new business processes), leveraging technology to streamline operations and boost productivity

• Increased focus on trading processes to increase efficiency and productivity

• Develop strategies and initiatives to improve broker service experience with a focus on process simplification, striving for operational excellence

• Review UW capacity and work with Underwriting to streamline processes and improve the customer experience. Use technology solutions where appropriate

• Large case proposition/management and workflow management, to improve current practices

• Regularly review broker feedback to identify areas for service improvement and implement required changes

• Laser focus on quote, strike, and conversion rates

• Embed CRM usage into team to ensure consistency and improved capability

• Leadership of Line of Business Sales leaders, driving people focussed leadership accountability

• Leadership of Sales Governance and Operational capability

• Support Underwriter development (technical and personal) with mentoring and training

• Ensure the highest standards of customer service are maintained and continually enhanced

• Uphold professional standards and practices, ensuring continuous improvement

Our must haves:

• Have previous experience working within the General Insurance industry and working with senior leadership teams

• A consistent record in sales/underwriting operations, with experience in Broker/Commercial Insurance

• Strong analytical and data management skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Dynamics CRM system

• Demonstrable experience and success in roles with an operational/business development focus and have a proven track record of delivery against new business and portfolio growth targets

• Understanding of project management techniques and customer management of both internal and external partners

• Show a high level of competence in the use of data to robustly performance manage

• We are looking for motivated, self-starting and success-oriented individuals who bring expertise, initiative, and a desire to build a market leading business

• A creditable and engaging representative of Markel, to cultivate long term relationships within the industry

• Effective communication skills, with expertise in simplifying complex data.

• Demonstrated leadership skills with experience in team management

• Collaborative nature, capable of working in sync with the Broker Channel Exec and leadership group

Who we are:

Markel Corporation (NYSE – MKL) a Fortune 500 company with over 60 offices in 20+ countries, is a holding company for insurance, reinsurance, specialist advisory and investment operations around the world.

We’re all about people | We win together | We strive for better | We enjoy the everyday | We think further

What’s in it for you:

• A great starting salary plus annual bonus & strong benefits package…

• 25 days paid holiday (pro rata) plus Bank Holidays, with the opportunity to buy / sell extra leave

• Fantastic company pension scheme, private medical and dental cover, life assurance, travel insurance cover, income protection, season ticket loan as well as other great benefits on offer

• There are countless opportunities to learn new skills and develop in your career and we can provide the support needed to do just that!

What we hope you’ll do next:

Choose ‘Apply Now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you.

Markel celebrates the value of a diverse workforce that brings experience and expertise from a wide variety of backgrounds and life circumstances. Whatever your background, if you feel you meet the requirements of this role then we want to hear from you. We are also happy to consider candidates who are looking for flexible working patterns.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with all reasonable accommodations to be able to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions if successful. Please contact us via email at [email protected] or call us on +44 (0) 2079536504 to request any accommodations that may be needed. This includes any alternative formats of any documents or information on how to apply offline.